No more school fees for PRSD families

No more school fees for PRSD families

In the spring of 2016, the board of trustees voted to eliminate fees for Peace River School Division (PRSD) families effective September 1, 2016. This includes textbook rental fees, class workbooks, Career and Technology course supplies, locker rentals, First Aid Courses as well as physical education and curriculum based field trips.

Background:
In December 2015, the Alberta government announced that they would be looking at lower school fees for Alberta families while planning for the 2016 provincial budget. The board then took the initiative to take a closer look at what PRSD was charging and what other school divisions in the province were doing in this regard. The board looked at financials and determined if and how the board could sustain a lowering or elimination of school fees. Upon researching the practices of other school boards, PRSD noted that some school divisions charge for school fees, some charge for certain fees, and some do not charge at all. After a comprehensive review the board decided to eliminate fees for all Peace River School Division families.

For the 2016-2017 school year, schools will use their accumulated reserves (comparable to savings accounts) to offset the lack of revenue coming in for school fees. For long term sustainability, the board will be looking closely at how they allocate dollars to schools and divisional reserves to offset if required. Although we are not relying on the government to cover school fee costs in the future, we hope that they continue to explore supporting free education in our province.

Note that general school supplies remain the responsibility of families. View PRSD’s school supply lists, registration forms, school calendars, school office opening dates, transportation information and other helpful school start up information HERE.